Bagasse board and method of making the same



Patented May 3, 1927.

UNITED STATES CHARLES W. MASON, OF OLAA, TERRITORY OF HAWAII.

BAGASSE BOARD AND METHOD OF MAKING THE SAME. I

No Drawing.

The invention relates to a novel form of box board, wall board, or artificial lumber,

made from bagassc. possessing great strengthand durability and capable of being worked like ordinary lumber, the preferred form of the product being produced by cooking or digesting the. bagasse fiber with milk of lime, refining thecooked product in a bearing engine until it' is reduced to a condition of pulp suitable for forming into paper, admixing with the refined pulp a. certain portion of raw bagasse fibers, which pulp mixture is adapted to form the body portion of the lumber as a dense, hard, coherent mass approximating natural wood in its consistency, the body portion being coated with baekings of paper formed from cooked and refined bagasse pulp without admixture with raw bagasse, the outer layers preferably being further treated with a protective coating of waterproof and weather-proof material. The invention alsocontemplates v the admixture with the pulp, prior to the formation of the boards, of a certain proportion of Portland or hydraulic cement admixed with a suitable sizing agent, such as water-glass, rosin, or the like.

In carrying out the invention, the bagassc fiber, as the same comes from the mill, is cooked or, digested, preferably in rotary boilers, with a solution of milk of lime, varying from 4% to 6% of the dry weight of -the 'bagasse fiber, from 8 to 12 hours under approximately pounds steam pressure.

After the bagesse has been cooked or digested, as described, it is subjected to a refining roeess that is carried out in a refining or beating engine for the purpose of reducing the same to a substantially uniform pulp, which is suitable for forming into paper on the ordinary cylinder machines. In order to materially increase the durability and tensile strength of the product, there is admixed with the cooked and refined pulp, while the latter is still in the beating engine,/ from 10% to 20% of raw bagasse fiber, which .is distributed throughout the pulp massand serves as a reinforcing element for the ulped fiber in the ultimate product, and a so imparts to the latter heat insulating and sound deadening qualities. i

The admixture of cooked and refined pulp and raw bagasse fibers is then delivered to a standard'type of paper making machine,

Application filed September 9, 1926. Serial No. 134,585.

preferably a cylinder machine, which forms the mass into sheets of paper, the base of which is the cooked and refined bagass'e fiber, with the raw bagasse in its original condition distributed throughout t-l-ie structure of. the paper sheets and constituting a reinforcing element for the latter, as well as imparting thereto the stated insulating and round deadening qualities. The sheets of paper coming from the paper making machine a re then built up to any desired thickness, say from to to form the body of the board. This operation may be carried out while the sheets are still wet, or, if desired, by finishing the initial sheets and then' building them up into board form by any oil the standard operations for making paper board. I Preferably 'a portion of the cooked and refined bagasse pulp is reserved for making surfacing or finishing sheets of paper to be applied to the faces of the board, the body portion of which is formed of the cooked and refined fiber admixed with the raw fiber, as described. The paper sheets made from the cooked and refined fiber alone are then applied as outside or finishing surfaces of the body of the board, and are then preferably finished with a suitable finishing coat, which may be in the form of a size, such as sodium silicate (water-glass), or an admixture of sodium silicate with a small percent.- age of Portland cement, or, if preferred, an ordinary paint or varnish.

If it-is desired to produce a relatively strong, hard, close textured board for building purposes and as a general substitute for lumber, the desired result can be obtained by adding to the pulp, while the latter is being-refined, from 10% to 20% of Portland'or similar cement admixed with a suitable sizing agent, such as sodium silicate, or ordinary rosin size, so that the cement and ,the sizing agent are thoroughly incorporated and'unitormly distributed throughout the pulp and will constitute with the pulp, when the latter is formed into paper and the paper layers into the ultimate board, a hard, dense, coherent, homogeneous mass approximating in appearance and eneral characteristics natura lumber, which may be cut, sawed, tongued and grooved, and otherwise worked up in the same manner as ordinary lumber;

\Vhen the bagasse board or lumber is in-v tended for use in localities subject to the atthroughout the put before the same is made into paper, or, it esired, it may be applied during the paper making operations by interposmg a suitable bath of the insecticide between certain of the drying rolls of the paper making machine, through which bath the web of paper is passed, while the web is still moist. The simplest form of apparatus for carrying out the latter mode of applying the insecticide is to interpose between certain of the drying rolls of the paper making machine, a trough containing a solution of bichloridc of mercury, in which trough is mounted a roller under which the web of paper is passed through the solution, the discharge side of the trough being provided with squeeze rolls to express the excess of the solution taken up by the web.

As hereinbeforc stated, the resultant product is a stiff, relatively hard, dense and exceptionally strong composition board, which may be fabricated in any thickness desired, which may be used either for interior or exterior. construction, that possesses particularly good heat insulating and sound deadening qualities, that is substantially weather and waterproof, that may be worked up in all respects like ordinary lumber, and that, when impregnated with a vermin or insect repellent or destroyer of the character indicated, will be impervious to the attack of insects and vermin, which are destructive of ordinary lumbeln' lVhat I'claim is:

1. The method of making artificial lumber from bagasse, which comprises cooking the bagasse in milkof lime, refining the cooked fiber to produce a substantially uniform pulp, adding to the pulp from to of raw bagasse, forming the resultant ,fibrous mixture into sheets, and uniting the sheets in superposed relation to form boards of the desired thickness.

2. The method of making artificial lumber from bagasse, which comprises cooking the bagas se in milk of lime, refining the cooked fiber to produce a substantially uniform pulp, adding to the pulp from 10% to 20% of hydraulic cement and from 10% to 20% of raw bagasse, forming the resultant tibrous mixture into sheets, and uniting thev sheets in superposed relation to fornrboards of the desired thickness.

3. The method of making artificial lumber from ba'gasse, which comprises cooking the bagasse in milk of lime, refining the cooked fiber to produce a substantially uniform pulp, adding to the pulp from 10% to 20% of hydraulic cement mixed with a sizing :-\gent and from 10% to 20% of raw bagasse, forming the resultant fibrous mixture into sheets, and uniting the sheets in superposed relation to form hoards of the desired thick- -l. The method of making artificial lumber from bagasse, which comprises forming the body of the lumberof superposed layers of paper made from a mixture of cooked and pulped bagassc admixed withraw bagasse and finishing the surface with paper made from cooked and pulped bagasse.

5. The method of making, artificial lumber from bagasse, which comprises forming the body of the lumber of superposed layers of paper made from a mixture of cooked and pulped bagasse admixed with raw bagasse,

finishing the surface with paper made from cooked and pulped bagasse, and applying to the surfaces a preservative coating.

6. A fiber board comprising a body of cooked and refined bagasse fiber admixed with raw bagasse;

7 A fiber board comprising a body of cooked and refined bagasse fiber admixed with from 10% to 20% of raw bagasse.

8. A fiber board comprising a body of cooked and refined bagasse fiber admixed with from 10% to 20% of raw bagasse and from 10% to 20% of hydraulic cement.

9. A fiber board comprising a'body of cooked and refined bagasse fiber admixed with raw' bagasse, and surface layers of paper composed of cooked and refined bagasse fiber.

10. A fiber board comprising a body of cooked and refined bagasse fiJOI' admixed with raw bagasse impregnated with a vermin destroying agent.

In testimony whereof I atfix my signature.

CHARLES W. Mason. 

